---------------------------------------------------------------Something wrong here at least 114 deaths from Judo training between 83 and 2010 and this is an instructor guilty of the death of a 6 year old from repeatedly slamming him during training - sad to think this is a sport which is meant to develop character.

That truly is sad. I've said it before and I'll say it again. That is too young to be doing martial arts.I understand that the arts elevate the self-esteem and all that. At six years old it 's too easy for somthing to go wrong and the child to get hurt. All that aside, that instructor needs to be slammmed himself a few times..... on concrete.Then send him to prison.

There have been a few stories like this emerging from Japan, particularly stories involving Sumo. I've even read a scanned document detailing deaths in Japanese Aikido classes caused by training. Whether or not this is a more serious problem in Japan compared to other countries, I don't know. Perhaps stories from Japan get reported more, who knows?

Too many martial arts instructors don't get that kids are kids. You can't train them like adults. I see kids in traditional MA classes being forced to hold stances and walk in line for 90 minutes while being shouted at by some wannabe drill-sergant in white pyjamas. I see clips of 8 year olds in a cage doing MMA training, telling the camera they "love" to train while their body langauge and their "suportive" parents body language tells a differnt story.

What I find bemusing though is that many people in the West lament that martial arts have been "watered down" and that health and safety concerns mean martial arts aren't "deadly" anymore. It's BS in my opinion. I'd rather a kid learn a "watered down" martial art and stay safe within the class than get badly injured or worse doing "da real thing".

The Judo sensei in the story is an extreme example of what is all too common in MA classes all over the world: Instructors not treating children in their care properly. It's an utterly senseless loss and I sympathize with his family.